Before he discovered Gwinnett County Acceleration Academies, Dawson Lewis had tried first one high school, then another. After dropping out, he tried studying for his GED, but lost momentum.

Family, friends and educators gathered recently to celebrate the latest class of graduates from Miami-Dade Acceleration Academies — honoring young women and men who pushed through challenges to earn their dream of a high school diploma.

Like so many Americans, high schooler Nayeli Serna got sick with Covid — so sick that she had to be hospitalized for a week. Her anxiety about falling ill again combined with an already present social anxiety to make her consider dropping out rather than returning to a large, traditional school.

As South Carolina School Choice Week approached, the father of a Lowcountry Acceleration Academy graduate appeared on a popular radio talk show to praise the way the school and its team of educators had helped his son and a friend turn their high school careers around.

While still in her teens, Sam White knows all too well about the need to put food on the table, pay the rent and make her own way in the world. She lives independently, has to work full time — and found she couldn’t fit her life inside the schedule of a traditional school day.

As schools across South Carolina and the nation struggle with helping students regain lost ground due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Lowcountry Acceleration Academy celebrated its biggest-ever class of grads.

After facing bullying in elementary and middle school, Anaya Garnes decided she was going to map her own way through high school. During the Covid pandemic, she shifted to an online program but found that working alone too often meant feeling abandoned by her teachers.

Each Wednesday morning at Lowcountry Acceleration Academy, a successful professional visits to tell graduation candidates about their journeys — and inspire the learners to plan their own.

Mako Velez is a strong student from a family that values education. Until she found Marion County Acceleration Academies, though, she had begun to wonder if a high school diploma was within her grasp.